


Stiles "Second-Best" Stilinski

by fandomismyship



Series: Stetopher's Life Together. [21]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father and Child Bonding, M/M, Mentions of self-harm, Multi, break-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-14 06:09:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4553730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomismyship/pseuds/fandomismyship
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter reveals a secret that rocks the happiness he had worked so hard to build.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start of the End?

**Author's Note:**

> If you read part 5, "Mysteries Are Fun", it makes this fic hit a bit better.

It had been a long talk between Chris and Peter that had led to the men sitting Stiles down across from them and handing the boy his very own key to the house. Stiles was ecstatic at the trust they were showing in him, knowing that as soon as he was done with school, he would be living with the two men here in Beacon Hills; or coming back from University to stay here during the Holidays. Either way, this was a big step for them all. That's why Peter knew that he had to tell them now, before they got in too deep and he made things worse.

"There is something else I need to tell you both, before we all agree that this is what we want." Chris gave Peter a confused look at that, not knowing what the man could need to tell them and Stiles just tilted his head, still holding the key to his chest with a grin. "Something happened, involving an old... friend and I did something stupid and then got it all reversed."

"Got what reversed?" Stiles asked, the grin slowly starting to fade from his face as confusion set in. What the Hell was Peter going on about?

Peter looked at Chris before casting his eyes down towards his lap. "There is a curse that was set on Chris and I a long time ago-"

"Surely that isn't still in place, Peter," Chris tried to tell him before he stopped as Peter held up a hand and looked up at the Hunter.

"It is, and it affected you this time." Peter shifted on the couch, trying to think of how to tell them of the events and not have it all blow up in his face. "I spoke to Joy after it happened, and she said there was only one thing I could do to make you forget, Chris."

"Then why did I forget?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow as he put the key on his lap.

"Because I had help from her son." Peter glanced at Chris, and there was that look of confusion he had expected at the mention of the Witches new son.

"Wait, Joy has a son?" Chris shook his head and placed a hand over his face, knowing what Peter was about to say couldn't be good if he had kept it from them. "Is this why you've been acting so weird lately?"

Peter nodded before he reached out a hand and took Chris', looking at Stiles across from them. "She told me I had to kill you so that Chris wouldn't remember, that was before I got the stone to reverse it all."

"You didn't do it, right?" Stiles asked, hope in his eyes as he felt his heart rate start to raise. "You wouldn't kill me so Chris wouldn't remember... what exactly?"

"Remember himself killing a family, which included a baby."

Chris looked down at the ground, closing his eyes for a moment before he took a small breath. "Peter, what did you do?" he asked carefully.

"I killed Stiles."

The room fell into an uneasy silence and Peter moved his gaze away from Stiles as the boy's usually joy filled eyes were flooded with hurt and betrayal. Looking at Chris wasn't any better, the man's jaw was set hard and his eyes were cold and refusing to look at the wolf. The hand he had a hold of moved away from his and Peter wrapped his arms around himself, letting his knees raise up before he held them to his chest.

"You killed me, so that Chris wouldn't remember killing an innocent family?" Stiles whispered, his stomach turning in pain before he shook his head as Peter nodded his own. "I thought... You promised me that this..." Stiles shook his head again and got up, placing the keys down on the table. "I knew I wasn't important enough, and I knew I was just an extra person in this... love story but... I thought you loved me, Peter."

"I do," Peter said quickly, lifting up his head and flinching slightly as he saw tears brimming in Stiles eyes. "Of course I do, Stiles."

"Just not enough to keep me alive." That hurt, and Peter knew he deserved it but he hadn't been thinking, he had just wanted his Chris back the way he was. "Whatever."

Peter felt Chris move off the sofa and saw him walk towards Stiles, the boy taking a few steps backwards. "Stiles, we can talk this over," Chris said softly, holding an arm out.

"Don't you dare," the boy said sternly, swallowing his tears down. "You get all of his love, Chris. He'll always chose you, just... leave me alone." Both of the men let Stiles leave, neither of them knowing what to do but both knowing that Stiles would need time to process all of this and try to understand it.

Chris didn't really understand this all himself. Sure, he got that Peter didn't want him to have to go through what he did, but to kill Stiles? How could he? "You should've let me remember."

"I might have lost you," Peter whispered, looking up to see Chris giving him a cold look again and feeling his heart ache. "I didn't want this to happen."

"And yet here we are." The hunter ran a hand over his face, picking Stiles keys up from the table before shoving them into his pocket. "You have done a lot of unforgivable things in your life, Peter, but this... you've outdone yourself this time."

Peter got up, trying to move to Chris and closing his eyes as the Hunter shrugged his touches off. "You know I couldn't help those things."

Chris looked at his lover, looked at the biggest part of his life and he shook his head. "You've lost us Stiles."

"I know and I'm so sorry, Chris." Peter grabbed onto the man's hand, forcing him to stay where he was as he made a move to leave. "Yo-You can't leave me, Chris. I don't want to be him again. I don't want to k-kill and... and be alone. Please don't make me be alone."

Chris looked down at their joined hands before nodding his head slowly, wrapping an arm around Peter. As much as Chris was annoyed at Peter, as much as he felt a small bit of resentment towards the wolf for killing their boyfriend, he knew he was right. To break-up with him would mean to send him back into a spiral that he would never come back from unless Chris forgave him, and then Peter would be left with remembering every horrid thing he had done all over again.

"I don't forgive you," Chris whispered into his ear as he held the shaking wolf close. "I'm angry and I'm so disappointed in you, Peter, but I don't want you to go back to that place." It'd only harm them all if Chris let this happen. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Thank you," Peter chocked out, feeling a tear run down his cheek as he clung onto Chris, onto his last life-line. "I'll- I'll make this better, I'll fix it all."

"I don't think you can fix this now, Peter," Chris mumbled, placing his hand on the back of Peter's neck as he pulled away. "Go to bed, get some rest and I'll sort this, okay?"

Peter looked at his Mate with wide eyes, feeling his wolf shift uncomfortably within him. "I don't think I can sleep." How could he sleep when this was happening? Chris understood why Peter would be stubborn to sleep, but he really wasn't in the mood to deal with the Werewolf right now, not after everything that had happened today.

 

"Then go to the Study. I don't care what you do, Peter, just stay out of the way whist I try and get our boyfriend back, okay?" Chris hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but the flinch Peter gave made him realise he had. Not that Chris would apologise, the man needed Peter out of the way and this seemed to be working, as Peter was now making his way back up the stairs and into their shared bedroom. How the Hell was he going to fix this mess?

**

Stiles drove his Jeep home, feeling empty for the first time in a while. Everything felt numb and heavy, like gravity was working against him and trying to force him to the ground. The breakdown Stiles knew he was going to have was slowly bubbling inside of him and he managed to make it home and in the door before he was falling to the ground, his knees connecting with the ground and sending a small jolt of pain through Stiles. The boy let out a sob, as he let his body slump backwards against the door, his legs moving to sprawl out in front of him as he shook his head, trying to rid himself of every thought he had.

A door creaked upstairs and Stiles realised his dad was home, realised he should probably stop crying but he couldn't, he just couldn't keep it in. Footsteps moved quickly down the stairs and Stiles moved back onto his knees, covering his face before strong arms were wrapping around him and Stiles was pulled to his dads chest. A hand ran down his back as Stiles kept crying, as he kept shaking his head and begging his dad to make it stop hurting.

When John asked what Stiles wanted to stop hurting, the boy couldn't tell him. What was the point now? It was all over. The boy just held on to his fathers arm tightly and cried into his chest, taking comfort in the hand now running through his hair as dad told him to breathe. It took five minutes for Stiles to be able to suck in a large breath without wheezing through it. It took another three minutes and twenty three seconds for Stiles to be able to stop shaking.

"What happened?" his dad asked carefully, his back now against the door as he let Stiles lean against him. The worry he felt for his son was enough to make him want to harm whoever caused this scene.

"It..." Stiles shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his red hoody, sniffling as he let out a soft sigh. He was so tired now, every move felt like too much. "It doesn't matter now."

"It matters to me."

Stiles looked down at that and picked on a loose thread in his trousers, taking a breathe before he looked back up at his dad. "I had a boyfriend, and he... he did something really stupid and it just hurt."

John looked at Stiles for a moment and the boy was scared he was going to react badly but he really wasn't expecting for his dad to say, "was it Derek?" and so he found himself bursting out into a weak laugh, which quickly resolved into a few more tears being shed as he shook his head. "Am I ever going to know who it was?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Why wouldn't I?" John now looked a mix of concerned, confused and like he had expected that reply.

"He was older." When John raised an eyebrow, Stiles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Like, your kind of older."

"Stiles..." John started carefully, trying to think of the right words to say, "were you forced into anything?"

Stiles shook his head quickly and sat up, finally able to make his limbs responded to his brain. "No, no, dad. I was never forced into anything." Well, maybe death, but he didn't even remember that.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No."

"Then what was so bad that you ended up like... this." Stiles felt bad for keeping it from his dad, he really did and he knew the man was just trying to look out for him, but all of this hurt so much and Stiles didn't want to add salt to the injury.

"Dad, I'm really tired and just worn out and I'd really like to see Scott. Is it okay if we talk about this later?"

"Are you going to be safe to go out alone, or do you want a lift?"

"I'll be fine, dad," Stiles promised, hugging his dad before they both got off of the floor. "You're home early, aren't you?"

John nodded and fixed his grey bed shirt, realising he'd need to change it as it now had a damp patch on it from Stiles tears. "I was feeling a little tired and Parrish told me he'd quit unless I came home and rested."

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked quickly, worry filling his expression. "Is it your heart?"

"I just worked late last night, Stiles." It's not like you always do that, Stiles thought sarcastically but kept himself from saying anything towards his dad about it. That was an issue for another day. "I'll get a rest and then be as bright as the sun."

"I don't think that's a saying," Stiles mumbled, which made his dad roll his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Go to Scott." The man pat his head, making Stiles turn his head away from the touch, sticking his tongue out at his dad before the man went up the stairs. Stiles turned around and moved out of the house, getting back in his Jeep before he stared at the wheel. Would Scott be the best one to help him with this situation? As much as Stiles adored his best friend, he hadn't exactly been the best one to help Stiles since he started going out with Allison. The boy thought over his options before deciding that Lydia would be the most help right now.

Lydia, the girl he had crushed on for far too many years, the girl who was smarter than most gave her credit for (hell, she was the smartest person Stiles knew) and the girl who had the best but most blunt advice a human could. Lydia would know what to do.

Stiles drove to the short girls house, making sure to check that Jackson's car wasn't pulled up in the driveway before he got out of the car and made his way up to his friends house. When he knocked on the door, Stiles heard muffled yells he couldn't make out before an annoyed Lydia was throwing the door open. "Stiles, do you know what time it is?"

"Um." No, Stiles didn't know. The boy checked his phone and saw that it was 10:56PM. How long had he been sitting in the car for? He must have zoned out, as it had only been after eight when he left Peter and Chris' house. "Sorry, Lyds, I didn't notice... I just..." Stiles rubbed his eyes again, starting to feel the fresh sting of new tears before Lydia's expression softened and she pulled her friend in.

"Come on," she told him, leading Stiles upstairs and giving the boy time to notice that his friend was currently in a baggy Disney t-shirt and a pair of shorts that fell half way own her thighs. The girls hair was tied up in a messy bun and when she turned to give him a reassuring smile half way up the stairs, Stiles noticed that she had no make-up on. Stiles liked Lydia with no make-up, she looked so good.

Once they were in Lydia's room, both of them sat on her bed, Lydia sending off a text- probably to Jackson- before she turned around to look at Stiles. "Going to tell me what happened?"

"First I need to tell you something I sort of kept a secret..." Stiles bit his bottom lip at Lydia's disapproving glance, she never did like secrets being kept from her. "I was in a relationship-"

"With who?" Lydia asked immediately before her eyebrows furrowed. "Was?"

"If you'd let me finish," Stiles said through a sigh, running a hand through his hair and shrugging at the girls apology. It wasn't her fault that this had happened. "No, I'm sorry, Lydia. I just... I was with Peter and Chris."

Lydia blinked at the information before she gave him a short nod. "Not a bad duo to hook up with," she said approvingly before her head tilted to the side. "Why are you no longer with them?"

"Well, they asked me to move in today." When Lydia looked like she was about to interrupt, Stiles gave her a single stern look and she pretend to zip her mouth up and throw away the key. It seemed their roles were reversed for once. "And then Peter told me about this curse Chris and him had put on them, that means if they break-up or something, then they become murderers. Which is why Peter was the way he was." Stiles thought on that information for a moment, thinking about how out of control Peter must have felt before he remembered he was in a mood with the man and he figured Peter deserved the pain. "Chris turned that way and... Peter killed me so a witch could make Chris forget an then he reversed it all with a stone her son gave her? I think. Something like that."

Stiles looked at Lydia as she took the information in and then the girl laid a hand on his arm and gave it a light squeeze. "So you left them because Peter killed you just so Chris wouldn't remember?"

Stiles nodded and looked at his lap, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. "He told me he loved me, they wanted me to move in and yet... Chris always gets more love form him. Chris will always mean more to him, Lydia."

"Of course he will," the girl said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Stiles flashed her an offended look. "Stiles, sweetie, how long have they been together?"

"Well, they were together when they were teenagers, and then they got together later on again." The story of Chris and Peter getting back together was one Stiles used to love to hear, now it just made him feel worse, made him more jealous.

Lydia put a leg under herself as she sat up a bit, a hard look on her face. "Would you chose Scott over either of them?"

Stiles frowned at that and he tapped his finger against his leg nervously. "In what way?"

Lydia let out a light hum of thought before she placed a hand over Stiles leg, which he hadn't even noticed was moving up and down. "Say you had the chance to save Scott from a life of pain, a life of misery... a life completely against everything he stood for and something that would, in the end, kill him anyways. Would you do anything to stop him from having to go through that?"

Stiles nodded slowly, letting Lydia take his hand before he looked into her eyes. "Scott wouldn't survive something like that."

"Neither would Chris, Stiles." Lydia squeezed his hand softly and smiled as comfortingly as she could. "Chris is... Chris is Peter's everything. Chris was his first boyfriend, his first love, probably. Chris would've been his best friend, Stiles, and he probably still is. Chris will be the only thing that remains the same as it was before the fire. Chris is his past, present and future."

"Do you think I should forgive him?" Stiles wasn't even sure he could, not this time. Little things, sure, like the time Peter put Stiles hand in a bowl of warm water and made him piss the bed. Killing him just to make Chris forget? That would be harder.

"I'm not saying that you should forgive him, not exactly." It was a difficult situation to be in, and Lydia didn't even know what she would do. "If you really love him, and Chris, then you should at least... I don't know, give him a chance? Did you let him explain why he went through with it?"

"It was to save Chris," Stiles told her, shrugging his shoulders. There wasn't always a big mystery behind why Peter had been evil enough to kill Stiles, he was just a fucking bastard.

Lydia shook her head. "Stiles, go home, sleep and then go and speak to them. If you can't forgive Peter, that doesn't mean you should leave Chris for something he couldn't control. Just... think about it."

Stiles looked at his friend before he pulled her into a hug and smiled at the kiss she placed on his cheek. "Thank you, Lydia. I knew you'd give it to me straight."

"I always will. Now leave, I need my beauty sleep." Lydia shoved Stiles off the bed with a small smirk before she got under her covers. "Goodnight, Stiles."

"Night, Lyds," Stiles said before he left the bedroom, starting to head out of the house and home. Sleep might be a bit difficult with the amount Stiles had to think about, but he knew he would need to get some if he was ever going to make a decision about this mess.

**

The later into the night it got, the more Chris realised that Stiles was not going to reply to him. It hurt a lot to be ignored by one of the people he loved, to know that this could really be the end. The whole situation was only made worse by the fact he loved Peter with all of his heart and yet the man had caused all of this. The Hunter only wished he could fix this, that he could stick it all back together like a broken car, make everything run nice and smoothly again.

Chris took the key out of his pocket and looked at it with sad eyes, leaning back on the sofa. Today was suppose to be a happy day. Today was meant to be the start of the rest of their life's. The rings sitting in his gun cupboard would need to be returned, or sold off. Could Chris even ask Peter to marry him after this? Peter had taken everything they had worked so hard to build up and had torn it apart in a matter of minutes.

Soft footsteps came down the stairs and Chris put the key back in his pocket, looking up to see Peter standing there, wrapped up in the dark brown blanket Stiles had gotten the other for his birthday. "Are you coming to bed?"

"I was thinking about sleeping on the sofa," Chris told him, pulling the duvet he'd put on the floor up before standing up. "You can go back to bed."

"I should be the one to sleep on the sofa, Chris." Peter moved over to his lover and took his hand, the Hunter not showing any response at the touch and it made Peter's heart clench up inside of his chest. "I'm the one who caused this."

Chris looked at his lover, his best friend, his soulmate before he nodded in agreement and pressed a hesitant kiss to his cheek. "I'll be going out tomorrow."

"Where to?"

"Stiles."

Silence seeped into the air, creating a barrier that further pushed the two men apart. Peter let Chris move up the stairs, listened as his clothes fell to the floor. When the he heard the bed springs creak quietly, Peter turned the lamp by the sofa off, letting darkness swallow his surroundings. When a small sniffle hit Peter's ears, he sat down and brought his knees up to his chest, keeping himself hidden inside the blanket. Chris was trying not to cry, Peter could tell that much and it hurt so fucking much.

All of this hurt. Stiles not being here after getting his own key to their home hurt the most. They should all be in bed, close to each other and comfortable. Maybe having sex. Well, probably not, Allison was upstairs in her room. Peter let his hearing shift to the girls room and he heard her door open, heard her walk down the stairs before hands were on his shoulders and he looked up as Allison moved away and turned the light on.

"Dad told me what happened," she said quietly, tucking her legs under herself as she sat next to the wolf. "He told me what you did."

"I..." Peter let out a heavy sigh and shrugged, holding the blanket tighter around his body. "I deserve this."

A soft hand laid on Peters blanket and the man smiled sadly at the girl who should've been his step-daughter one day. Now Peter doubted that would happen. "Everything will work out, Peter. You guys are meant to be together, all of you. I've seen you together."

"It just means Chris will have a chance to find you a mom if he leaves me." Peter put his head on his knees, his body heavy and aching. Mental pain was not something Peter wanted to ever experience again if this all did somehow work out.

"Peter," Allison said softly, putting a hand on the back of his head before shifting closer to him and leaning against his body, "you are my dad too."

The man lifted his head and looked at Allison, his eyebrows drawn together before he slowly put his arm around the girl and ran his fingers through her hair. New tears came to his eyes and the wolf pressed a light kiss to Allison's head. "Don't be stupid," he whispered.

"But you are," Allison told him, bringing her legs up onto the sofa. "You have been here since mom died, you... I don't know, you didn't replace her, you just filled in that hole in our lives. You make me breakfast most days, you bring me home stupid gifts when you go away somewhere. You make dad jokes and you make dad so happy." The girl lifted her head to look at Peter again, a small and loving smile on her face. "You may have fucked up- a lot- but you also did everything right here."

Peter held Allison closer and pressed his face into her hair, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Whatever happens, I promise I won't jus disappear out of your life," he mumbled, stroking her hair again.

"You better not, I've got a birthday coming up and I need a great gift," Allison teased, wanting to lighten the mood as best as she could. "Don't worry, you'll be here and you'll probably drag dad and Stiles out of bed and make me breakfast in bed."

"I think last year proves that that is a bad idea," Peter pointed out, smiling as Allison let out a laugh at the memory of Peter bringing breakfast to the girl in bed, only to trip over the wire of her hairdryer and end up with bacon, eggs and orange juice all over Allison and her bed.

"It wasn't my fault," Allison shot back, closing her eyes slowly. "All your fault."

"If you'd kept your room tidy like I told you to, it wouldn't have happened," Peter informed her, just keeping the girl close to his body as he heard her heartbeat slow down,

"Yeah, whatever," Allison drawled, rubbing her eyes with her fists before she let herself drop further into sleep. "Night, dad."

"Goodnight, sweetie," Peter whispered, pressing one last kiss to her hair, a soft smile on his face as he looked down at the girl. Peter could only hope that this wouldn't be their last night curled up on the couch together. The start of their father-daughter relationship could also be the end. The wolf shook the thoughts out of his mind and closed his own eyes, keeping his arms protectively around the girl before he let himself drift into a deep sleep.

**

Chris woke up at six in the morning, immediately going to wrap an arm around Peter before he remembered the events from the day before a deep sigh left his lips. The man pulled himself out of bed and put his clothes on, his head pounding before he ran a hand over his face. Chris glanced at the vodka bottle on his bedside table and shook his head. So, he had drank last night. Great. Chris chucked the bottle out before he made his way down the stairs, thoughts on some food before he spotted two bodies were now on the couch and he moved over to see Allison lying against Peters chest, the man holding onto her as they both slept.

The sight was beautiful, but it hurt Chris. It hurt to know that Chris could fuck up the stable life Allison finally had again, just because of something Peter felt like he had to do. Chris moved over to the couch and made sure both of them were covered with the blanket, pressing a light kiss to both of their foreheads before he smiled sadly.

Whilst his bacon and eggs were cooking, Chris pulled out his phone and unlocked it, going straight into his phonebook before he clicked on Stiles name, putting the phone to his ear as he leant back against the counter. It took five rings before a tired voice came through on the phone, "hello?" the boy crocked.

"Sorry, I've woken you up, haven't I?" Of course he had, it was too early for Stiles to even consider being up unless he hadn't slept the night before.

"Chris?" There was a bit of rustling on the other side of the line and Chris closed his eyes, imaging Stiles sitting up, the blankets pooling around his waist as he yawned, his arms in the air. A small whine left Stiles lips and Chris let out a soft chuckle, knowing Stiles was definitely stretching. "It's so early."

"I know. I'm sorry, baby." Chris shifted about, checking on his eggs and flipping them over as he hummed under his breath. "I just wanted to check if you were still, you know... speaking to me."

There was a pause and Chris swallowed nervously. "I am. I'm pissed off at Peter and I'm sad and... it wasn't your fault."

"You don't feel like you're important enough in all of this and I get it, Stiles, I do. You just..." Chris ran a hand over his face before he put the phone between his shoulder and ear so he could place the eggs on his plate. "Peter and I have a long History, Stiles. We have a damn cruse, we have everything against us and yet we have everything fighting for us to be together."

"I just don't know where all of that leaves me," Stiles admitted in a small voice and Chris wished he was here, so he could wrap his arms around the boy and hold him close, just protect him from all the pain Peter had caused him.

"One day, if you let us all be together again , you'll look back and understand. You'll understand what it is like to have someone you basically grew up with. It's the person who took your every first, the people who were there through no matter what. In life, we always face heartache, and if we have to do that alone, ever, we realise just how much the people we love mean to us- how much we need them. After we got back together, Peter was more determined than ever to never let that happen again, not because of what he did, but because of the pain that he felt when he didn't have his mate.

"Not having you, Stiles, that's going to be extra pain. That's going to be like losing me all over again, even if he does have a... daughter and boyfriend to get him through it, it's still going to suck. I can barely bring myself to touch my own love, Stiles. He let you get away, he caused this all to fall down and I wish you'd just come back, but I'm going to respect whatever decision you make."

Chris took a deep breath and let it out again, a little surprised that Stiles had stayed silent that long, the boy wasn't exactly known for being quiet. "I just don't know if I can forgive him for this. I mean, I want to, I do, but... Chris, it's so hard."

There was a shake in stiles voice and Chris balled up his fist, wishing Stiles was here so he could hold him close and tell him everything was going to be okay. Not that any of it was really going to be okay. "It's okay, Stiles. I promise it's okay."

"But it's not," Stiles whispered, a sniffle sounding from his end that had Chris sitting down on the floor, his back up against the cupboard door. "I miss you guys already and it hasn't even been more than a day. I didn't think it would hurt this much."

When Stiles started to cry, Chris brought his knees up to his chest, feeling glad that at least Peter and Allison were fast asleep on the couch. Finding Chris like this wouldn't help any of them. "Hey, hey, ssh, Stiles. It's okay to feel sad. It's what happens when you leave the people you love, but it does get better." What the Hell was Chris even doing now? The man didn't want Stiles to leave, he didn't want the boy to move on or start dating other people. Chris wanted Stiles here, with them and safe. Happy. Chris just wanted Stiles to come home.

"I don't want to leave you, Chris." There it was, Chris' choice. On one hand, leaving Peter would hurt both of them and backfire greatly on them. On the other hand, Chris loved Stiles and telling him that he would stay with Peter, basically chose the man would only further prove Stiles anxiety's.

"I..." Chris ran a hand over his face and shook his head, his hand moving up into his hair and taking a tight grip on it. "Stiles, you can't ask me to pick."

"I know," Stiles whispered from his end of the line and Chris heard the boys creak ever so slightly. "You'd pick Peter, I get it."

"I never said that-"

"You didn't have to."

"Stiles, please don't do this. It's not that I'd chose Peter, or that I'd chose you. I don't want to lose either of you." In Chris' ideal world, they'd all be happy together, forever. Even after death- if there was a Heaven. Or maybe they'd all be in Hell. Hm, seemed more likely. "I wouldn't be able to make the choice."

"I, um... I could make it easier for you." Stiles drew in a big breath to try and get his voice rid of the tears he was clearly letting free and Chris let go of his hair, placing his hand over his heart as he felt every part of him ache. "I could just go."

"No," Chris told him, his tone stern as he tried to grab a hold of whatever there was left of his relationship with Stiles. "We'll work it out, Stiles."

"Promise?"

"Always."

"I love you."

Chris smiled weakly, nodding his head slightly. "I love you too, Stiles. Go get some sleep, I'll call you later." With that, Chris placed his phone down on the ground and closed his eyes, letting his body release every piece of tension he'd felt at the thought of losing Stiles. The boy was staying and he wasn't going to leave Chris. Chris would just have to somehow figure out how to make Stiles find a way to forgive Peter.

"Dad?" Allison's voice came from above him and Chris looked up, quickly getting off the ground before bending down to pick his phone up. "What were you doing on the ground?"

"Just waiting for my bacon, sweetheart," Chris said, shrugging it off before he checked inside the oven, only to be met by smoke. "Fuck."

"Well done," a croaky voice came from near his daughter and Chris glanced up at Peter, giving him the best smile he could. A smile that mae Peter's face drop even further.

"I'm going out for a run."

"Wait, Peter..." Chris trailed off as he watched the man move to the front door, hearing it slam shut behind him. "Great. Just fucking great."

"Dad." Allison was still there, fuck. Okay, this morning went from okay to a mess. "I can make some more bacon for you."

"It's fine. I'm not hungry anymore." Chris walked over to her daughter and gave her a tight hug, holding her close to his body. "I promise I'll make this all okay, Allison."

"I know, dad," the girl mumbled, watching her dad walk away from her and wondering how much longer all of this was going to go on for. Things had been going well, but she guessed she shouldn't have expected it to stay that way for long. Things never seemed to work out well arond here.

**

"Stiles?" John pushed his sons bedroom open, seeing the boy curled up under his covers in the bed. "Are you okay?" The man had heard his son crying and talking to somebody on the phone when he has passed to go down and make them some breakfast. He had called in sick at the work, making sure Parrish would stand in his place whilst he tried to figure out what was going on with his boy.

"I'm fine, dad," a muffled reply came from the bed and John moved over to the it, sitting down on the edge and placing a plate of toast on the side, along with a glass of Orange juice. Stiles head poked out from under the blankets and he rubbed his eyes, John frowning at the red and puffiness of them. "Thanks," his son muttered as he grabbed the Orange juice and took a large gulp of it.

"So, you need to tell me about this man you're dating." It was something John couldn't avoid, couldn't get out of his head. Stiles was dating somebody he shouldn't be- well, at least he could've waited until he was outside of High School to date someone that much older than him.

"Dad, I really don-"

"Stiles, you need to tell me," John interrupted his son with a serious expression. "This isn't something I can ignore or make go away. As much as you're hurting, I'm also very worried as to who was... well, there's legal aspects to all of this and I'm only worried about you."

Stiles shifted on his bed and let out a small huff of air before he nodded. "I know, dad. I know." The boy sat up before he grabbed his phone, checking to see if he had any messages, just trying to delay this moment.

"Stiles," John tried to prompt his son into telling him what was going on.

"Okay, okay," Stiles snapped, running a hand over his face. "Sorry. Right, I... it's Chris and Peter," he rushed the last part, cringing slightly as he waited for his dads reaction, figuring it would not be very good.

"Mr. Argent and Mr. Hale?" John raised an eyebrow, blinking slightly. "You have two men around my age as your... partners?"

"Yeah." Stiles let out an awkward laugh and did a weak jazz hands. "Surprise..."

John took a long breath, counting to ten in his head as he tried to think of every reason it was not okay to march over to the Argent household and kill both of the men. "Have you had sex?"

Stiles face went a bright red and he let out a deep groan. "Dad!"

"Stiles, I need to know if you have had sex."

"I mean, well... yeah." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the bed as an awkward silence settled over the father and son.

Peter and Chris. John's son was dating a Hunter and a Werewolf who were old enough to be his parents. One of whom had a daughter the age of Stiles. Well, that wasn't what John was hoping to hear at all. It was over, though, so John figured that was one thing he had going for him. "You love them, don't you?"

"More than I ever thought possible, dad." The boy looked up at him with wide, tear filled eyes, clearly fighting with himself to not cry and breakdown in front of his dad over this.

John put a hand on his son's arm and rubbed it softly, smiling supportively at him. "It'll get better, Stiles."

"Yeah, thanks, dad," Stiles said quietly, shrugging the mans touch off before John pulled him into a hug and Stiles melted into it, burying his face in his dads chest. "I just want it to stop hurting."

"It will," John promised, having to remind himself of the fact he was the Sheriff and he really, really shouldn't kill anybody. Even if they hurt his son. "You can tell me what happened later, okay? Thank you for telling me about them, though. I know it's hard to think about them right now and I didn't really give you much of a choice, but... it's still nice that you told me."

 

Stiles nodded into his dads chest and moved closer to him, seeming like a small child again as he clung to his dads t-shirt. It hurt John so much to see his son like this, to see him back in the place he had been when Claudia had died. John swallowed thickly as he thought of his wife and he looked down at his son, frowning at the top of his head. Maybe it wasn't good that Stiles wasn't with Peter and Chris anymore... A small sniffle drew John's attention back to his son, but he kept one thought in the back of his mind; find out what happened and fix it, for his sons happiness.

 

 


	2. Fix Me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, again.  
> This is a BIG WARNING for mentions of self-harm at the end. It's not it being explained whilst being done, just that it happened in a blank moment.

Chris waited until a day had gone by before he decided to meet up with Stiles. The man had made sure that Peter was in bed before he went to go and meet with him. When he arrived at the Stilinski household, the man was greeted by a very stern faced Sheriff Stilinski. "We should talk," John said, letting the man into the house before leading him over to the couch. Once they were sat down, John looked over Chris before sitting up straight. "What are your intentions with my son?"

"I just came over to talk to him about a new research point for a Hunt I am currently on-"

"I know about your relationship," John said, running a hand over his aging face with a look of tiredness that only a parent of a teenager shall know. "I know that you have been sleeping with my teenage son."

"I..." Chris looked down at his lap for a moment before realising that this talk had been coming for a long time and that he just needed to get it over with now. "I do not have any ill intentions with your son, Sheriff."

"And yet you couldn't even wait until he was 18 to sleep with him?" John frowned, unsure of what to make of this whole situation.

"We made sure to use condoms, if that is what you are worried about," Chris replied with an awkward smile, never having figured he'd ever have to have this talk with a partners parent about sex ever again.

"That doesn't help here, Chris," John told him, staring at the man with a cold look. "You already have a partner, why did you two have to go after my son as well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and Chris really wished the group would swallowing him up already.

"Sir, it just happened. Did you plan on marrying and having a kid with Claudia? I know I never planned that with Victoria. In fact, it was arranged between Victoria and myself, and I did love her, but I never thought I would." The Hunter kept his eyes steadily on John, seeing the man think over the past, just as Chris had to in that moment.

Victoria had been his love, she had. Although, at the start, they both hated each other. Victoria was a strong and independent woman, she only needed Chris for his sperm and she had made that very clear from the start. He's not sure when it happened, or how, but eventually the two came to love each other, they came to care for each other. Chris swallowed thickly and looked away from John, hearing footsteps above his head.

"Do you love him?" John asked quietly, his hands now folded in his lap.

"With all my heart, Sir," Chris replied without a single hesitation. "And I am determined to do what I can to fix this situation and make it better in any way that I can."

John took a moment to think, sitting back in his seat and keeping his eyes on Chris. The man was not happy about this situation in anyway. Nothing about it made him happy. Seeing his son cry, seeing him heartbroken and lying on his bed like the world itself was ending, that's what made John realise that it didn't matter what he thought. He could fight it, he could tell Stiles no but he had seen what happened time and time again when he took that approach. The only thing he could do was let this happen and see where it went.

"I have a few rules if this is going to continue," John told Chris, the Hunter sitting up from where he'd slouched on his seat. "You are not to have sex, I will know when my son is with you and I want no more secrets to be kept from me."

"Of course, sir," Chris answered immediately, nodding his head at the man. "I will do anything if it means I can try to fix this."

"He's upstairs in his bed."

Chris got up from his seat and nodded his thanks at John before he walked up the stairs, his heart in his throat. Things would be better, they had to be better. If this didn't get sorted, Chris feared nothing would ever be the same between himself and Peter. Once he got upstairs, Chris let himself into Stiles room and looked at the boy curled up in the bed, moving over to him and taking Stiles into his arms as the boy scrambled up. Hearing Stiles start to cry broke Chris' heart and he ran his fingers through his hair, just keeping him close.

"It's okay," Chris said softly, kissing his temple. "You are okay."

"I feel so empty," Stiles admitted as he pulled back, rubbing at his red eyes and sniffling. "I feel like everything is just moving away from me and I can't hold onto anything of it."

Chris pressed a light kiss to Stiles forehead and took his hands. "I know." The man understood how both halves felt, he understood that both felt hopeless and lost and Chris was just stuck in the middle of it all. "Peter did a terrible thing."

"He did," Stiles agreed, keeping close to Chris and realising just how much he had missed his boyfriend. "I am sorry."

"It's not your fault." How could Chris blame Stiles when the boy was the victim in all of this?

"I just feel like I'm the throw away part in this all." It was like Stiles was a board piece that wasn't really needed in a game but people enjoyed having it sitting there and looking pretty. "I don't feel like I'm really in a relationship."

"I understand-"

"No, no you don't, Chris!" Stiles snapped, moving off of the bed and staring to pace. "You get all his love, Chris. You get him loving you and he would never hurt you! He wouldn't do anything that might risk your health and yet he'd happy kill me!"

Chris looked down at his lap for a moment before looking back up at Stiles. "If you feel the need to leave, you can," he said quietly, shrugging his shoulder and running a hand through his hair. "I am not going to keep you in a relationship you are not happy in, Stiles."

"But I was happy in it." Stiles stopped and looked towards the older man. "I was very happy with you and Peter, even when I felt like I was disposable, you always made me think I wasn't..." Stiles took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. "I just don't know what I want to do anymore."

"We could give it a trail run?" Chris suggested, getting up and moving to Stiles. "We can work it all out and take baby steps again."

"But then I would seem like I'm forgiving him for killing me, Chris." It'd be a weak thing to do, completely weak. Stiles would be giving in to being second place and he didn't need to do that. Stiles could do better, he deserve better. "I deserve better."

"I agree, " Chris said honestly, linking his fingers together on his lap. "You deserve to come first place and you deserve to feel like one in a dynamic such as ours. Peter is complicated and I'd be lying if I told you I understood why he did what he did, but we both know he wouldn't do something like that without good reason."

"What good reason could their possibly be?"

"I have a daughter."

It was not something either of the lovers had thought about before. The thought of Allison had never even crossed their minds for a second. If Chris was too murderous to forgive Peter, then he would continue to be that way and suddenly Allison would be up and alone, having to fend for herself or live with a broken wolf in place of her dad. If Chris had gotten back with Peter and had remembered all he had done, what if he had become distant from his own daughter?

"I never thought about her," Stiles said quietly, moving over to the bed and sitting down on it in front of Chris. "al I could think about was... us."

Chris pressed a hand over Stiles and squeezed it softly. "I didn't think of her in that situation until now either."

"That's still... I don't know." The boy put his head in his hands and let out a soft groan, shaking his head. "I just need time."

"I think we all do." Chris got up, pressing a light kiss to the others forehead before moving away from the boy. It didn't take long for Stiles to be up on his feet and in Chris' arms, kissing him deeply. The Hunter savoured the moment before pulling back from the honey eyed boy with a shake of his head. "You nee to decide, Stiles," he whispered. "I'm bound by a spell to stay with him..."

Stiles nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before returning to the bed. "I promise I'll figured this out... I love you."

"I love you too," was the last thing Chris said before he left the boys room and headed straight out of the house. Nothing was okay this far, but not all hope was lost and that was what Chris had to hold onto. It's all he had to hold onto.

**

Peter returned back to the house with a heavy heart, sweat running down his skin as he let out a puff. It had been a long time since Peter managed to burn himself out far enough that he was out of breath. The man moved straight into the kitchen, taking a tea towel to run over his face before he chucked it in front of the washing machine, deciding he'd do it later. Peter had more important things to focus on.

Stiles. Peter had to somehow make Stiles forgive him. The wolf wasn't sure how he was supposed to do anything anymore and a small part, deep within him wished he would never have taken the stone. Sure, he felt like utter crap for killing Stiles and he always would, but if he hadn't have brought him back then at least one part of his life would be going well.

Dark thoughts, that's all Peter could have. Whatever he did, he was, in the core of himself, evil. Villains didn't get happy endings, they didn't get to ride off into the sunset with a face aching grin on their face. Villains got to broad alone, do something incredibly stupid and not well thought through and then they were killed by whoever the hero of their story was. As a kid, Peter had never believed in fairytales, had never believed that he would get a happy ending. Now, he knew fairytales came from a true place, he just realised he wasn't the hero of his own story.

"Alone," he said to himself quietly, sitting down at the kitchen table and letting the thick silence in the air push down on him, let it fight gravity and push him further towards Hell. Death didn't scare Peter, not in the slightest. The Hale family were once a Pack thriving and destined to greatness; now they were long lost ashes and broken shells. "You just had to go and fuck it all up." Peter ran a hand over his face, not sure why he was talking to himself now. "Always fucking it up." Peter tried to search for a lie in his words and felt his heart only sink further as he found none.

Once upon a time -ironically- Derek and Peter had been close. The two of them used to be a weird sort of best friends. Where one lead, the other would follow. Now his Nephew could barely stand to look at him and Peter didn't blame him. The man was under no illusion that his actions were caused solely by his insanity and the spell. Something deep inside of him ticked away in him, craving for power and yearning for everything he'd lost in the fire. Now he had lost it all.

"I don't know why I'm here," a small voice said from the living room and Peter's head snapped over to see the very center of his pain standing there in a red hoody and a pair of grey sweatpants. Stiles looked sad and it broke Peter's heart. "I was going to Scott's and I just kept walking, I kept walking until I was suddenly here."

"I..." Peter got up from the table, keeping his eyes on Stiles and feeling his claws start to expand as he felt a strong urge to dig something sharp into his arm to distract himself from the pain he felt. "I can leave."

"Don't," Stiles told him, quicker than he seemed to have expected to as he looked down to the ground with a frown. "I think we need to talk."

"Of course." Peter moved to the living room, making sure not to go near Stiles, even if his wolf was fighting for control to do so. "Do you want a drink, or something to eat?"

"No." The honey eyed boy sat down in a seat, Peter sitting across from him and that dreaded silence crept back into the air. The two of them sat there, the sound of birds and animals outside reminding them both that the world hadn't stopped in that moment; even if they both felt like something was going to end. "I don't know what to say to you," Stiles finally said, his eyes moving up to Peter's and fresh tears made their way back to the boys eyes.

"You don't have to say anything," Peter whispered, shifting on the seat so that he could tuck his feet under himself. "We could just sit here."

"Why did you do it?"

Well, Peter knew that question had to be asked, but it made him pause for a moment. Through all of this, Peter had thought up a million reasons for why he did it, but he couldn't pin the exact one that had lead to it. "Why do we do anythin-"

"Don't give me that crap, Peter," Stiles said tightly, Peter closing his eyes at the coldness in Stiles tone. "Don't you dare do this to me."

"I wish I could do something to make this better, Stiles, I do, but I don't think there is anything I can do." The wolf pressed a hand over his face and took a small breath, his heart slowly breaking inside of his chest. "I wish I could make you understand."

"Then tell me, Peter," Stiles said, his tone strained as his eyes turned pleading. "Tell me how you could kill me if you love me so much!"

Peter took a shaky breath before moving his arms down to his lap, looking up at Stiles and swallowing thickly. "Because I know how it feels."

"How what feels?"

"How it feels to... to kill and beg yourself from deep within to stop. I know how it tears your very being apart and ho-how much it hurts to live with that." Peter ran a hand over his face, hating that he had to talk about this when he promised himself he'd never relive the memories. "I killed a member of my family, Stiles. I tried to kill all of you- Hell, I nearly bit you. I have to live with that every goddamn day and it kills me. It takes everything out of me just to avoid the thoughts."

"You didn't want Chris to have to go through that, did you?" Stiles asked quietly, trying desperately to keep the walls he'd built around himself up and protect himself from the harm Peter had caused home.

"I didn't want it ruin our life's."

"So instead you took mine?"

"I never said what I did was right, Stiles. I never said I thought it through." The man's eyes turned cold and he shook his head. "I didn't think about what I was doing. My mind was so focusedd on making everything go away that I... I let go one of the best things in my life."

"Obviously not good enough," Stiles snapped at him, scoffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew I was nothing to you."

"That isn't true," Peter told him tightly before his claws extended slowly at the frustration he felt. "What do you want me to do, Stiles? Do you want me to go back and erase this? Because I can't. I can't go back and I can't fucking fix it!" The man got up, nearly kicking the table over before he stopped himself. "How about I do it to Chris?" he asked quickly, looking back at Stiles with wide eyes. "I can take his heart out and prove to you that this is real."

"God sake, Peter!" Stiles yelled, standing up with balled fists. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because I don't know what else to do, Stiles," Peter said quietly, his hands coming up to his hair before he grabbed onto it and tugged, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do, Stiles and it's driving me mad. It's tearing me apart to have lost so much order in my life." The man fell to his knees, his head bowed down as he let out a shaky breath. "I let everything get so bad again. I just keep fucking this up, Stiles."

"Peter..." Stiles tried to fight the tightness in his heart at seeing Peter so lost and broken, he did, but... well, he still loved the man, even if he hated him the past while. "Look, I'm not forgiving you, okay?" That made Peter close his eyes tightly and Stiles moved over to him, kneeling next to him. "But I'm not going to cut you out completely." The boy took his hand and stroked it until Peter's claws moved away. "I hate you so much right now, and I'm not going to promise that I'll ever forgive you, because I don't know if I will, but we can... we can still be around each other."

Peter turned his head to look at Stiles and he nodded slowly, moving up a hand to wipe a tear off his cheek. "I'd- I'd really like that, Stiles," he whispered, wanting to kiss the boy but stopping himself from. "I promise I'll do anything to make this better."

"I know you will." Even if Stiles didn't really believe that this could be better, he did know that Peter would try his hardest to make it as good as he could. Peter always did what he had to, to make everything better.

"You should go."

"I don't have to-"

"Stiles, if you don't go, I'm going to kiss you." Peter got up and moved away from Stiles, wrapping his arms around himself. It hurt both of them to have to go through this, to have to stop touching each other. "Please."

"Okay." Stiles looked at Peter, his heart clenching up again before he walked out of the house, shutting the door before leaning back against it and letting out a shaky breath. It hurt so fucking much to walk away like that, to know Peter needed him in that moment and he shouldn't want to forgive him but love made you do stupid things. Love made you want to believe that something would change. Maybe the boy was mad to give Peter even a small chance, but he'd like to challenge anybody and ask them to even imagine being without the people they loved with all their soul. He'd ask them to sit in their room and cry for days, to feel torn up inside and barely being able to bring themselves to get up in the morning.

Stiles may not have forgiven Peter in anyway, but he was willing to try and see where this went, to see if they could fix this mess at all. If it didn't work out and he couldn't forgive him, then that'd be that, but if there was even a small chance that he could start to understand forgive Peter, well, wasn't love worth that risk?

**

When Chris returned home, it was to a mess of a house. The living room was turned over, smashed glass lying around and claw marks in the wood of everything on the ground. Chris closed his eyes and counted to five before walking further into the house and spotting a body sitting on the bedroom floor. "Peter?" he asked carefully, slowly making his way to the man before kneeling next to him with a frown when he got no reply. "Hey, Peter, come on." Chris put a hand on his cheek, making Peter look at him and letting out a small breath of relief as he felt Peter's warm breath on his skin. "You gave me a fright."

The wolf didn't make a move and Chris ran a hand over the claw marks on his cheek, his eyes turning sad. "Jesus, Peter, what have you done?" he asked him with a shake of his head. The man noticed a bottle near Peter and he pressed their foreheads together. "Wolfsbane. I knew I should've moved it somewhere else."

"I wanted it to stop," Peter whispered, making Chris pulled back and blink slightly. "I wanted it to stop hurting."

"Oh, Peter, that was no reason to bloody well hurt yourself." Chris pressed a light kiss over each mark before getting up, pulling Peter with him and sighing as he slumped on the spot. "Come on," he said softly, picking him up before starting towards the stairs. "It'll be okay, Peter."

"No it won't," Peter told him, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the wall. "He was my Mate as well. Wolves aren't suppose to loose their Mates, Chris. It's not right."

Chris pressed a light kiss to Peter's forehead before getting him into the bedroom and putting him under the covers. "You still have me, baby," he promised him, getting under the covers with him and pressing their bodies together. "You'll always have me."

"Promise?"

"Of course I do, Peter." Chris took the man's face in his hands, his heart twisting at the broken mask that seemed to be hiding his Peter from him. "You'll adjust, your wolf is just confused and angry."

"I just want Stiles back."

"I know, baby." Chris kissed him softly before wrapping his arms around his boyfriend, holding him close. "What happened that lead to the mess downstairs?"

"Stiles came over." Peter buried his head in Chris' neck, taking some comfort in his scent.

Chris was rather shocked at that turn of events and he ran a hand through the others hair. "What did he say?"

"That he doesn't forgive me but he is willing to... try. Try to be around me, or something. It's all a little fuzzy right now." Peter frowned at himself before whimpering and pressing his fingers into Chris' clothing.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Chris said softly and he kissed his temple. "That's a good thing. That's a step in the right direction, okay? You just try and get some rest, sweetheart. I promise it'll all feel better in the morning."

None of this may be ideal, but at least they were starting to head in a positive direction. Chris hoped.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: This might be the end of my series.  
> I know, bleh. If you didn't like how it ended, then I'm sorry. I didn't get them fully back together because it will take time but I also thought over this so much and let myself imagine it as Stiles and this was what I decided must happen (well, I decided tonight but still). I know it's not ideal for everyone, but it also is my story as well, so.  
> Please leave comments, kudos and now you can start requesting stuff again!  
> I'm slowly getting my mojo back but it's still a struggle so sorry if stuff is still slowly for a while. Sorry this was so slow too.  
> So, yeah, thanks if you stay after this chapter, if not, have a good life, babies. <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is in two parts because this part took longer than I expected, due to my mental state being unstable, however I stuck at it and I thought you deserved to see some now, so yeah.  
> Hope it all made sense and didn't stray or bore too much?
> 
> I'm currently not taking requests, so sorry, but requests for John finding out in a different manner will be dealt with in separate fics eventually.  
> Feel free to leave kudos, comments and suggestions! :)  
> Stay save and well, dearies.


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